


open my chest and colour my spine

by fineosaur



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Baker!Arya, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Gendrya Freeform, TattooArtist!Gendry, more tags and characters will be added soooon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 07:16:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20060122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fineosaur/pseuds/fineosaur
Summary: As soon as he saw her, riddled in tattoos, hair swept up messily, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.Gendry’s most recent customer has him enthralled within the first seconds of seeing her. He doesn’t expect to ever see her again, until one fateful day where he crosses paths with her at the new bakery that opened up down the street.indefinite hiatus





	open my chest and colour my spine

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOUALL for how well received the sneak peak of this fic was. Here we go -

In all of his 7 years of working in the studio, this was the first time he had to remind himself of professionalism. He didn’t know her, he’d never seen her, yet she had this effect on him. He felt winded.

When Harwin informed him of a ‘Stark’ coming in for a sternum tattoo. He remembered silently cursing his friend for passing on one of his frequent customers to him in favour of a dentist appointment. That all changed when she walked in, asking for _‘Gendry Waters’_. The way she said his name, the way her hair was put up messily that stray hairs curled around her neck all made his breath catch in his throat. She shook the hand he’d held out to her and followed him into his workroom. She was riddled in tattoos, her right arm had half a sleeve of various designs and her left the beginnings of one. He could easily pick out Harwin’s work, he pondered on why this was the first he was seeing of her. While he prepped her, he talked her through safety precautions. Gendry knew she’d probably heard all this a dozen times but he said it all anyway. She introduced herself as _’Arya Stark’_ and after that, she didn’t seem to run out of things to talk about till the actual inking started.

Arya wanted a dagger on her sternum, the design was simple enough. To him, she was art herself, we wanted to only ever work on her. Her presence made him feel lighter and it sent him over the edge. Gendry reminded himself that he did not know the grey eyed woman, he’d probably never get the chance to brush aside the hairs that wisped by her neck and he would most likely never be seeing her again.

Gendry prepped the area with soap and a razor, sterilising the sternum and applying a thin sheen of ointment. The dagger was fairly easy to do, all other thoughts drained out of his mind, leaving only the art he was leaving behind, the gloves on his hands and the needles he needed. Once he was done, he cleaned the area a final time and bandaged it.

He finally allowed himself to look up into her eyes. _Grey_ he thought, his tucked away thoughts slowly trickled in as he disposed of his gloves and used needles. Gendry snuck glances at her as she examined the newly added ink. “You’re brilliant.” He heard her say. He watched her turn to face him, her grey eyes twinkling, fixated on his.

He watched her pull her hair out of its messy bun and attempt to retie it. Her eyes still gazed into his, she gave him a small smirk before he realised he still hadn’t said anything. It took a moment for Gendry to find his words again as he was transfixed on the woman in front of him. “Yeah, it’s no problem. Make sure to keep it bandaged for 24 hours, clean it out gently with soap and warm water. Also antibiotic cream 2-3 times a day. I’m sure you know the protocol.” He told her, unable to meet her eyes. He fiddled with his machine.

”I think I might have to let Harwin go. I’m quite impressed,” She told him. He felt her searing gaze, his best efforts to not meet it failed. Gendry stood up from his stool, watched as her hair, now in a pony tail, swayed as she shifted her head to follow the direction he walked to. He had to remind himself of professionalism once more as he noticed the look she gave him as she gauged his height. He wanted to laugh at her blatantness but fought the instinct.

”Don’t let him hear that he might give up on the dentist in its entirety,” Gendry joked lightly.

”It was nice to meet you, _Gendry_.” Arya said the way she said his name made him want to hear it on repeat. He watched her exit his workroom, his composure falling. _And if I never see her again, the thought of how her dark hair framed her lean face and the way the moon was nothing compared to her grey eyes would be enough._

* * *

It was months later, when he crossed paths with a particular grey eyed, tattooed woman. The thought of her almost lost to the recesses of his mind, until he saw her, plain as day in an apron. “Would you like anthing else, sir?” The plump man at the counter asked him only for the question to fall on deaf ears. His eyes trailed on the inked sleeves he had seen so many months ago, now faded due to a layer of flour that seemed to have settled on the exposed surface of skin. When she disappeared through a door, he snapped himself out of his trance.

Now eyes back onto the man in front of him, waiting patiently for his answer. “I’ll take a coffee too, please.” Gendry sat down at a table, taking out his phone. Arya walked out from the backroom, still in her apron, towards the man he met at the counter. She was immediately a distraction, his coffee and breakfast long forgotten as he watched her laugh at something he wasn’t privy to. Suddenly, she caught his eyes. He saw her lips curl into a smile, _she remembered him_.

She was walking towards him, wiping flour off her hands with a small towel. His heart fluttered and jumped as she got closer to him, her grey eyes in clear view. “Fancy seeing you here, Mr Ink Man,” Arya said cheekily.

”You too, Miss Stark. How’re you healing?” He responded, fighting the urge to run his hands through his hair as his nerves wracked.

”I’d show you, but I doubt taking my top off would do well for our newly birthed bakery. And it's Arya,” She told him nonchalantly. Gendry almost dropped his phone at her comment, looking up at her in shock before letting himself laugh at her joke. _Arya_, he thought.

”To be fair, it could be good for business too,” He countered, allowing himself to relax a little. Arya beamed at him, laughing at his jape.

”Is there anything else you want?” She asked. _Yes, you,_ he thought. As he took in the way her eyes studied him, the way she bit her lower lip, he knew that was something he couldn’t say just yet.

”Ah, no. I actually have to head into the studio soon.” He explained. Her expression fell slightly at the mention of his departure. She nodded at him and gave him a small smile.

”I’ll see you around then, if not to show off my dagger, there’s always baked goods available just down the street.” Arya told him as she walked away. It sounded like _an opening, a little bit of hope._ He’d definitely be coming back, if not to ask her out just yet, then perhaps to ogle her a bit more until he bullied himself enough into it.

When Gendry left the bakery, he felt as if he was floating, whilst also getting the feeling as if all his senses were on high alert. He didn’t know her yet but he was determined to. He walked into ‘Brothers’ Banners Tattoo Studio’, thanking the root canal Harwin had gotten many months prior.

**Author's Note:**

> i know, i know i've said i wouldn't be posting more of my actual wips until after axg week but i had to get this up. anyway, as usual, short first chapter to introduce the setting of the fic. hope you all like this sneak peak, it'll get better but only after i get a move on and work on the upcoming week.  
please feel free to leave any comments or questions you have. also if you haven't yet, check out my other 2 fics, both are modern aus as well so might just be in your alley.  
see you all after axgweek, keep an eye out during that week for my fics if you feel like it!
> 
> follow me on my tumblr for updates and whatnots  
\- fineosaur


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